Common Legal Website Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
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Common Legal Website Pitfalls and How To Avoid Them “To assist the public in obtaining legal services, lawyers should be allowed to make known their services not only through reputation but also through organized information campaigns in the form of advertising. Advertising involves an active quest for clients, contrary to the tradition that a lawyer should not seek clientele. However, the public’s need to know about legal services can be fulfilled in part through advertising. This need is particularly acute in the case of persons of limited means who have not made extensive use of legal services. The interest in expanding public information about legal services ought to prevail over considerations of tradition.” D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 7.1, Comment 2 Emily N. Wood • Client Websites Manager & Compliance Attorney for Smokeball Case Management Software • www.smokeball.com • www.smokeball.com/legal-websites • Previously worked as a Federal Regulatory Compliance Attorney for D.R.L. Enterprises Republic Tobacco and as Compliance Attorney Department Manager with UpRight Law • www.emilywoodesq.com Presentation Overview • Today we’ll be touching on: • What your website should include to be effective both visually and content-wise • How you can achieve this while also making sure your website is compliant by Professional Responsibility Standards • District of Columbia Rules of Professional Conduct • ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct • ABA Formal Opinion 10-457, August 5, 2010, Lawyer Websites • Ethics Opinion 370 – Social Media I: Marketing Personal Use • Ethics Opinion 371 – Social Media II: Use of Social Media in Providing Legal Services Relevant D.C. Rules Of Professional Conduct • Client-Lawyer Relationship [1] • Rule 1.1 Competence • Rules 1.6 Confidentiality of Information • Rule 1.7 Conflict of Interest: General • Rule 1.18 Duties to Prospective Client • Information About Legal Services • Rule 7.1 Communication Concerning a Lawyer’s Services • Rule 7.5 Firm Names and Letterhead • Maintaining the Integrity of the Profession • Rule 8.5 Disciplinary Authority; Choice of law What Your Website Needs To Be Successful • Domain Name and Website Host • VIP Pages (Easily Navigable) • Call To Action (CTA) & Descriptive Content • Relevant Imagery • Responsive Themes • Mobile Friendly • Disclaimer • Accurate Security Settings • Social Media Linkage • SEO Tips for Choosing Domain Names • The Basics: • root name (emilywoodesq), • top-level domain (.com, .net, .org) and • a subdomain – once you have your root you can add any subdomain you want • Choose a relevant name • Buy the name of your firm before someone else does • Most people assume “.com” (recommended) • Keep it short and sweet and NO slang - spell it out or clients have to guess • Research keywords Domain Registrar vs. Website Hosting Domain Registrar Website Hosting • A domain registrar is where you • Web hosting services determine purchase your domain name (Go where your domain lives (Go Daddy, Namecheap, Blue Host, Daddy, Fat Cow, etc. ) – many 1&1) services will offer both VIP Pages - Your Website Should Have These Pages [2] • Home • About or Firm Overview • Attorney Profile • Practice Areas • Disclaimer • Contact pages • You Should also consider: • Blog • FAQ • Client Testimonials D.C. Rule 7.1(a) [4] WHAT IT SAYS: a)A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services. A communication is false or misleading if it: (1) Contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading; or (2) Contains an assertion about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services that cannot be substantiated. D.C. Rule 7.1(a) [4] WHAT IT MEANS: • Don’t make false or misleading statements. • Don’t omit facts if they would prevent certain information from being misleading. • Comment [1] - This rule governs all communications about a lawyer’s services, including advertising. • Comment [3] - This rule permits public dissemination of information concerning a lawyer’s name or firm name, address, and telephone number; the kinds of services the lawyer will undertake; the basis on which the lawyer’s fees are determined, including prices for specific services and payment and credit arrangements; a lawyer’s foreign language ability; names of references and, with their consent, names of clients regularly represented; and other information that might invite the attention of those seeking legal assistance.. • Comment [4] - Questions of effectiveness and taste in advertising are matters of speculation and subjective judgment…and so this rule subjects advertising by lawyers only to the requirement that it not be false or misleading. D.C. Rule 7.1 (b) [5] WHAT IT SAYS: b) A lawyer shall not seek by in-person contact, employment (or employment of a partner or associate) by a nonlawyer who has not sought the lawyer’s advice regarding employment of a lawyer, if: (1) The solicitation involves use of a statement or claim that is false or misleading, within the meaning of paragraph (a); (2) The solicitation involves the use of coercion, duress or harassment; or (3) The potential client is apparently in a physical or mental condition which would make it unlikely that the potential client could exercise reasonable, considered judgment as to the selection of a lawyer. D.C. Rule 7.1 (b) [5] WHAT IT MEANS: • A lawyer can’t solicit, in person, professional employment by someone who didn’t seek them out if: • The solicitation is false or misleading; • The solicitation involves coercion, duress or harassment; or • Comment [5] In-person solicitation (can be via telephone) can create problems because of the particular circumstances in which the solicitation takes place so the following are NOT OKAY: • Harassment of early morning or late night telephone calls to a prospective client to solicit legal work, or • repeated calls at any time of day, and • solicitation of an accident victim or the victim’s family shortly after the accident or while the victim is still in medical distress. • The potential client has a physical or mental condition preventing them from using reasonable judgment as to the selection of a lawyer. D.C. Rule 7.1 (c) [6] WHAT IT SAYS: c) A lawyer shall not pay money or give anything of material value to a person (other than the lawyer's partner or employee) in exchange for recommending the lawyer's services except that a lawyer may: (1) Pay the reasonable costs of advertisements or communications permitted by this Rule; (2) Pay the usual and reasonable fees or dues charged by a legal service plan or a lawyer referral service; (3) Pay for a law practice in accordance with Rule 1.17; and (4) Refer clients to another lawyer or nonlawyer professional pursuant to an agreement not otherwise prohibited under these Rules that provides for the other person to refer clients or customers to the lawyer, if: (A) The reciprocal agreement is not exclusive, and (B) The client is informed of the existence and nature of the agreement. D.C. Rule 7.1 (c) [6] WHAT IT MEANS: • A lawyer CAN’T pay others (other than lawyer’s partner or employee) for recommending the lawyer’s services EXCEPT the following: • pay the reasonable costs of advertisements/communications, • pay the reasonable costs of a qualified lawyer referral service, • purchase the law practice in accordance with Rule 1.17, and • refer clients to another lawyer or a nonlawyer professional pursuant to an agreement IF: • the reciprocal referral agreement is not exclusive, and • the client is made aware of it. • Comment [7] – Referral agreements should not be for an indefinite duration and should be reviewed periodically. The agreement should not interfere with the lawyer's professional judgment as to making referrals or as to providing substantive legal services. D.C. Rule 7.1 (d) [7] WHAT IT SAYS: d) A lawyer shall not knowingly assist an organization that furnishes or pays for legal services to others to promote the use of the lawyer’s services or those of the lawyer’s partner or associate, or any other lawyer affiliated with the lawyer or the lawyer’s firm, as a private practitioner, if the promotional activity involves the use of coercion, duress, compulsion, intimidation, threats, or vexatious or harassing conduct. D.C. Rule 7.1 (d) [7] WHAT IT MEANS: • A lawyer shall not knowingly work with an organization paying for legal services to others to promote the services of the lawyer or anyone affiliated with the lawyer’s firm if the promotion(s) involve: • coercion, • duress, • compulsion, • intimidation, • threats, or • vexatious, or • harassing conduct. D.C. Rule 7.1 (e) [8] WHAT IT SAYS: e) No lawyer or any person acting on behalf of a lawyer shall solicit or invite or seek to solicit any person for purposes of representing that person for a fee paid by or on behalf of a client or under the Criminal Justice Act, D.C. Code Ann. §11-2601 (2001) et seq., in any present or future case in the District of Columbia Courthouse, on the sidewalks on the north, south, and west sides of the courthouse, or within 50 feet of the building on the east side. D.C. Rule 7.1 (e) [8] WHAT IT MEANS: • Solicitations in the Vicinity of the District of Columbia Courthouse - Comment 9 • No lawyer or any person acting on behalf of a lawyer shall solicit any person for purposes of representing that person in the vicinity of the District of Columbia Courthouse (on the sidewalks on the north, south, and west sides of the courthouse, or within 50 feet of the building on the east side) • BUT solicitation is permitted in the District of Columbia Courthouse for pro bono representation purposes. D.C. Rule 7.1 (f) [9] WHAT IT SAYS: f) Any lawyer or person acting on behalf of a lawyer who solicits or invites or seeks to solicit any person incarcerated at the District of Columbia Jail, the Correctional Treatment Facility or any District of Columbia juvenile detention facility for the purpose of representing that person for a fee paid by or on behalf of that person or under the Criminal Justice Act, D.C.